Pennsylvania EAA Chapter To Restore The Actor's Cessna 310

Hollywood motion pictures can make heroes out of the most unlikely people, and we have certainly seen that in many poorly produced aviation movies. However, actor Jimmy Stewart was the real deal when it came to an aviation background. Fortunately, some EAA members have decided to restore one of his airplanes to honor his memory.

A Cessna 310 that once belonged to actor Jimmy Stewart is being restored so it can be displayed at the actor’s hometown airport that bears his name. EAA Chapter 993 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is performing the restoration at Indiana County/Jimmy Stewart Airport, and Chapter Secretary, Harold Wood, is helping to lead the project.

Stewart purchased the airplane, N6775X, new in 1961 and owned it for several years. It remained airworthy through 1995 but was abandoned in Texas at the Dallas Executive Airport after the owner (not Stewart) passed away and no heirs could be located. After the engines and props were scavenged by a local training school, the plane was deregistered by the FAA and airport management ultimately planned to send it off to the salvage yard.

That didn’t sit well with EAA member John Hurn, a longtime fixture at the Dallas Executive Airport and retired U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam. He didn’t want to see Stewart’s airplane relegated to the scrap heap and decided to help save the vintage twin.

When information linking N6775X to the actor was discovered by the Twin Cessna Owners Group, the type club contacted Jimmy Stewart Airport manager to see if Stewart’s hometown airport wanted it. The airport lacked the resources and that’s how Harold Wood and the EAA chapter got involved. The chapter had the skills and resources to restore the plane but no space to work on it.

So, the airport provided hangar space and chapter members pledged to volunteer 4,000 hours for the effort, which could take two years to complete. Also planned are fundraisers to raise the money needed for the restoration, which includes repainting the plane in its original colors. Last month, the airplane was disassembled and hauled back to Pennsylvania.

The goal is to restore the airplane for static display and erect it on a pedestal near the airport terminal. Wood also said they hope to track down N6775X’s logbook and provide details about where it flew with its world-famous owner and pilot.

Donations to help buy missing parts and materials for the restoration are appreciated and can be sent to EAA Chapter 993, P.O. Box 202, Indiana, PA 15701.

(Image provided by EAA)

FMI: www.eaa.org